Do: Carry your board on the subway"Carrying a board is better than owning a dog," insists Adam Nelson, CEO of Workhouse Publicity. "It gives you instant recognition, it projects wanderlust and can be used to defend yourself against subway crime."Don't: Let anyone borrow your board"I let my boyfriend borrow my beautiful new board and he came out of the water with a huge chunk missing after a newbie ran into him," says Winnie Beattie, president of Siren PR. "The worst part is my boyfriend is a much better surfer than I am, so no one will believe that this is his fault. People just assume I ran into a rock."Don't: Be modest "Some towns have ordinances against changing out of your suit in public—even if you're wrapped in a towel—but I just do it anyway," says Old Soul surfboard maker Joe Freeman. "I don't think it's really a big deal and it's easier than changing in your car."Do: Look on the bright side of things "When I fall a lot I'll start to get bummed out on myself," says photographer Matt Schwartz, of She Hit Pause Studios. "But then I realize that it's a Thursday afternoon and I'm in the ocean on a beautiful day. It's a tough sport but at least I'm not chained to a desk."Don't: Turn your surfboard into a billboard "I recently saw a bright yellow board created by the Bic lighter company," says Nelson. "I'm still on the fence as to whether that's good or bad or just ugly."Don't: Make your board look ghetto "I've seen homemade graffiti that's looked pretty bad," says Schwartz. "When I was in California I saw some gang stuff scribbled on boards, or people would just write things on with a Sharpie."Do: Pee in your wet suitIt's not a myth. Everyone we asked admitted to doing it—without even the slightest hesitation.Do: Be prepared to drink some water "There have been days that are nonstop wipeouts," Schwartz says. "One day in particular, I probably swallowed ten gallons of water."Don't: Be afraid of a little blood "Exotic locales have reefs that can cut you," says Freeman. "I was in Indonesia for a while and I got cut a lot. It hurts taking care of the wound because you have to brush it with, like, a toothbrush to get all the reef out or else it will get really infected. You just gotta suck it up."Don't: Get into a fight "Dropping in on another surfer is the cardinal rule of what you shouldn't do, and that's when people start getting into fistfights in the water," warns Freeman. "I've seen it happen plenty of times."

Wikipedia (pronounced WIK-i-PEE-dee-a) is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project based on an openly editable model.

Since its creation in 2001, Wikipedia has grown rapidly into one of the largest reference websites, attracting nearly 78 million visitors monthly as of January 2010. There are more than 91,000 active contributors working on more than 17,000,000 articles in more than 270 languages. As of today, there are 3,549,684 articles in English. Every day, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world collectively make tens of thousands of edits and create thousands of new articles to augment the knowledge held by the Wikipedia encyclopedia.

WORKHOUSE is an American public relations firm founded in 1999 by Adam Nelson (born June 20, 1969). Beginning inside a Manhattan-based film company with three clients and two employees, the company had grown to roughly 22 employees when it was acquired by The Morris + King Company (MKC) in 2010 which won PR News' "Top Places to Work" in PR award that same year. Nelson became the President of MKC and oversaw the company's consumer division.

In 2011, Mr Nelson negotiated a buyback of his firm in a desire to recapture its independence. He gained majority control and took the firm private at the close of the year. In 2012, Workhouse swept three of the industry's highest honors when it was bestowed with the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Silver Anvil Award, the PR News' Platinum PR "Wow Award" and the Bulldog Reporter Silver Medal Award. The agency was also named a PR Daily/ Dow Jones "Grand Prize: PR Campaign of the Year " Finalist.

The company was founded in 1999 by Adam Nelson as a public relations, branding and marketing firm. Its first office was a one-room shack in the kitchen of a SoHo film office with one phone, a fax machine and an unpaid intern. The company was named after the Workhouse of Great Britain and Ireland. The National Congressional Committee presented Nelson with the 2003 National Leadership Award and he was elected to serve as an Honorary Chairman of the Business Advisory Council that same year. He was selected by the International Who's Who of Executives in 2004.

Corporate and ConsumerThe firm's focus is on consumer, celebrities, corporate and publishing, however, it has represented a wide range of clients from the Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood, International Emmy Awards, tech brand TiVo, publishers Assouline, teNeues and Rizzoli, Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis, punk mecca CBGB, tech brands LuxuryCulture.com, Wantful.com, PhotographersLimitedEditons.com to notable celebrities, photographers, and a number of fashion brands. The company's roster of clients has been described as untraditional, iconic, and A-List.

The firm garnered widespread coverage of Francis Ford Coppola "Festa Macaroni" launching the five-time Oscar winners line of Mammarella pastas and sauces, his Coppola wines and the release of Paramount Pictures Godfather Collection on DVD. Workhouse accomplished this by closing down a number of streets in Park Slope, Brooklyn and recreating the set of Coppola's The Godfather. One poignant moment was the arrival of the Honorable Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his proclamation of June 11th as Carmine Coppola Day in honor of the directors father.

ClientsOther Corporate clients have included Interview Magazine 30th Anniversary that Workhouse produced with performances by Elton John and Lil' Kim. They also oversaw the grand opening of the Richard Branson Virgin Megastore in New York's Union Square; the 20th Anniversary of Galleries Lafayette in Paris, France; and Workhouse produced "The 24 Hour Play"s ten days after the tragedy of September 11th. The 24 Hour Plays was a special celebrity performance to aid the charity Working Playground in their efforts to help the children of New York cope with the tragic events of September 11th.

The firm represents a wide range of celebrities. One of its initial clients included photographer David LaChapelle. The firm has also worked with filmmaker Tim Burton, Matthew Modine, Michael Nesmith, and entertainers Debbie Harry, Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood and entrepreneur Sean "Puffy" Combs.

Adam Nelson appeared in an episode of The Apprentice in 2004. The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC

Personal LifeHe is married to Alison Nelson, founding owner of the Chocolate Bar whose locations include New York's West Village, Henri Bendel, Long Beach Island and 30 locations in Dubai and the Middle East. The couple have two children a daughter, Lulu Scout Nelson and a son, Sailor.

ART PIMP GETS FIT, NOT HITWorkout regime of a simple press soldier trying to hack it in today’s rough-and-tumble world of Public Relations

What is your workout history: I certainly don’t mean to boast, but my workout background is pretty legendary. In school, I was the track team guy who always finished last. I joined the football team for almost an entire day, and won my first real bicycle at a clown contest. It was presented by Ronald McDonald himself. I guess the tipping point came when I looked at a photo of my wife and I together and thought: “Hey, what’s my father doing with Audrey Hepburn?”. Jeez, my stomach looks just like E.T.’s! Although my wife has always retained her skinny-as-a-Hershey-bar-figure, being the poor schlub married to a chocolate shop owner, I became soft around the middle. Did I always work out? No. I watched Rocky movies instead and pretended to.

So what’s your workout of choice? Other than Areospace I surf six months a year right outside of our Chocolate Bar in Long Beach Island NJ. Shoot a few hoops. Skateboard a few blocks. Carry 30 lbs children under each arm (don’t get the wrong idea, I think they’re mine)

Mr Nelson, your wife owns a chocolate store. Does this make things hard?You could say so. But, I don’t have a choice. My wife’s a cocoa pusher.

I hit Areospace 3 nights a week, Monday – Wednesday for 2 1/2 to 3 hours a night. Depending on the night, the regime breaks down as follows:

Aerojump workouts help you perform like a pro athlete. It increases metabolism and burns calories leading you through training moves including crossovers, double turns, one-leg and slow motion jumps as well as light hand weight exercises and lower body lunges. One 45-minute advanced-level session burns 1,200 calories. Believe me, you can barely stand after it’s over.

Aerobox workouts inspire you to perform blazing punch combinations in rapid-fire sequences combined with intervals of jump rope, push-ups and squats. Every muscle in the body battles against gravity in this class designed to enhance endurance, speed, stamina, power, coordination, tone and muscle strength. "It's getting fit without getting hit," Olajide says. Combining isometric and plyometric workout techniques. In other words, you spend the entire class looking in the mirror pretending to beat up the school bully.

Aeroimpact features double-end bags, speed bags, heavy bags and body snatchers, clients don hand wraps and boxing gloves for a thorough, user-friendly workout that hones their skills like professional boxers and kick boxers. Working individually and with partners, you develop endurance, speed, cardiovascular health and agility by practicing jabs, hooks, uppercuts and kicks. So you’re locked in a very small room with 22 others throwing punches until it reaches sauna-hot levels. It gets so hot that all of the windows fog up and the floor is slick with sweat. If you can survive the class, your next challenge is make it out the door out.

The ExecutiveAdam Nelson is the Founder & CEO of Workhouse Publicity which was instituted in 1998. With more than 15 years experience in the field, he has served as the chief representative for a stable of celebrity clients including Tim Burton, Debbie Harry, David LaChapelle, Lennox Lewis, Sean "P Diddy" Combs, to name a few. He has been honored by both the International Who's Who of Entrepreneurs and Executives and received the National Congressional Leadership Award in 2005. Recently he was elected to serve as an Honorary Chairman of the Business Advisory Council. Nelson earned his BFA from the University of the Arts before receiving certificates from both Yale University and Oxford University. He is married to Alison Nelson, founding owner of the Chocolate Bar whose locations include New York's West Village, Henri Bendel, Long Beach Island and 30 locations in Dubai, Qatar, India and the Middle East. The couple have two children a daughter, Lulu Scout and a son, Sailor.

Mr Nelson is 5 foot 7 and weighs 148 pounds.

WORKHOUSE Established in 1996, Workhouse specializes in publicity and brand development. We primarily focus on high-end international lifestyle clients including luxury and restaurant, consumer products, fashion and publishing, celebrity, design and travel and have always approached our client campaigns through a long-term perspective. Workhouse maintains a unique pedigree of personal attention while adding new dimensions of promotional service to our diverse but like-minded roster. Renowned for meticulous attention to detail, uncompromising quality and high aesthetical standards, we have carved a rich niche within the cultural sector. Visit www.workhousepr.com

WORKHOUSERECEIVES TOP HONORS AT 2012 INDUSTRY AWARD CONTESTS

2012 PUBLIC RELATIONS SOCIETY OF AMERICA SILVER ANVIL AWARD

2012 PR NEWS PLATINUM WOW! AWARD

PR DAILY/ DOW JONES FINALISTGRAND PRIZE: PR CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

BULLDOG REPORTER SILVER MEDAL AWARD

USA- WORKHOUSE (www.workhousepr.net), a New York-based leading public relations and integrated creative agency, swept three of the industry's highest honors when it was bestowed with the 2012 Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Silver Anvil Award, the PR News' Platinum PR "Wow Award" and the Bulldog Reporter Silver Medal Award. The agency was also named a PR Daily/ Dow Jones "Grand Prize: PR Campaign of the Year " Finalist at the ceremony which took place in Washington, DC on September 11th. The annual industry award contests recognize those organizations who have successfully addressed a contemporary public relations issue with exemplary professional skill, creativity and resourcefulness, honoring the most talented communicators in the Public Relations industry.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SOCIETY OF AMERICAThe public relations profession’s most prestigious honor, the Silver Anvil Award acknowledges the very highest level of achievement and is the established icon of the “best of the best” public relations practices. PRSA is the largest professional organization serving the U.S public relations community. With a mission to "advance the profession and the professional," PRSA provides news and information, thought leadership, continuing education and networking opportunities; sets standards of professional excellence and ethical conduct; and advocates for the business value of public relations and greater diversity among public relations professionals. Based in New York, PRSA comprises 111 local chapters; 14 Professional Interest Sections that focus on specific industries and practice areas; and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), which is active at more than 320 colleges and universities. The Silver Anvil, symbolizing the forging of public opinion, is awarded annual to organizations that have successfully addressed a contemporary issue with exemplary professional skill, creativity and resourcefulness. These four areas represent the solid criteria by which senior practitioners judge each entry to ensure it meets the hightest standard of performance in the profession. Sponsored by the Public Relations Society of America-- the largest professional association serving the public relations industry-- Silver Anvil winners become a part of the history of our profession. In the 60-plus-year history of the Silver Anvils, more than 1,000 organizations have been recognized. Only one Silver Anvil may be awarded in each subcategory. The Silver Anvil is regarded as the pre-eminent achievement of public relations.

PR NEWS AWARDSPR News' Platinum PR Awards salute the year’s most outstanding communications initiatives and programs in the highly competitive and dynamic PR arena. The coveted awards set the industry benchmark for excellence across all areas of PR. The winners of the Platinum PR Awards are from corporations, agencies and nonprofits large and small who took chances, made tremendous strides and understand the power of public relations. PR News honored the top PR initiatives in more than 40 categories—ranging from anniversary campaign and crisis management to social media and word of mouth—at its benchmark-setting Platinum PR Awards. The finalists of the Platinum PR Awards set industry standards for excellence across all areas of PR. Finalists are from corporations, agencies and nonprofits—both large and small—that took chances, made tremendous strides in their communications efforts and understand the power of public relations. The Platinum PR Awards program is presented by PR News, the leading resource for PR professionals. PR News provides PR professionals with the latest industry best practices in its executive-level premium weekly publication

BULLDOG REPORTER AWARDSMore than 100 winners of the 2012 Bulldog Awards for Excellence in Media and Publicity Campaigns. Winners were chosen exclusively by working journalists from hundreds of entries representing the very best strategic and tactical prowess that PR/corporate communications has to offer. Campaigns were judged by a team of working journalists, who assessed them on the basis of their ability to achieve extraordinary visibility and influence opinion, as well as on their creativity, command of media and technology, and tenacity. Bulldog Reporter publishes the Daily ‘Dog online trade journal, the PR/communication industry’s largest circulation publication, and is the industry’s premier provider of professional development events and materials.

PR DAILY AWARDSPRDaily.com is the No. 1 international online news site in the industry. The PR Daily Awards were launched this year to celebrate talent in the public relations industry and received hundreds of entries in categories spanning traditional, cause-related, crisis-related, event and social media campaigns. For more than three decades, Lawrence Ragan Communications, Inc., has been the leading publisher of corporate communications, public relations, and leadership development newsletters. Ever since the launch of The Ragan Report in 1970, Ragan has provided the professional communicator and executives with timely, practical, and relevant information that few others can match. The Ragan brand now includes over 16 targeted newsletters in the areas of employee communication, organizational writing and editing, sales and marketing, media relations and motivational management. In addition to our newsletter division, Ragan produces several communications conferences, workshops, and senior-level forums throughout the United States. Ragan conferences draw more than 3,000 professionals annually and provide attendees with access to leading communicators, best practices and rich networking opportunities.

THE HYPE MANPROFILE MAGAZINE | EXPERTISE | ADAM NELSON, CEO, WORKHOUSE Workhouse Publicity’s Adam Nelson helms a PR wonderland with playful workspaces and an all-guts attitude“My original vision was simple: I wanted to eat every day. Not much has changed except today I’m hungry in a different way.” ____________________________________________________________________ In 1996, in a rented kitchen on a wayward side street in SoHo, with nothing more than a telephone, a fax machine, and $196 dollars in the bank, Adam Nelson launched a PR think tank. One move to a Chelsea loft, 15 employees, and over a decade later, Workhouse PR is a funhouse for publicity genius, rubbing elbows with the likes of P Diddy and Versace, and hosting events for Sundance and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. With a whimsical workspace and an industrious work ethic, Nelson spills on what made him hatch the agency, what drives him everyday, and even what makes him cry. Why did you want to start your own company? Desperation. Workhouse only came about because my world caved in. The celebrity agency that employed me had closed its doors, and I found myself out of work in the middle of an economic depression. Much like today, employment wasn’t an option. No one was hiring. I had $196 in the bank and one client: the photographer David LaChapelle, who so very graciously agreed to allow me the honor of continued representation. God bless him. So how did you do it? I rented the kitchen of a Soho film outfit and just plain hustled. I pitched new business completely cold, took every client I could for pennies on the dollar, gathered a group of interns, and slowly built it from the ground up. My original vision was simple: I wanted to eat every day. Not much has changed except today I’m hungry in a different way. After a few years, I took possession of the entire space. My wife, who was my vice president at the time, and I transformed it ourselves through old-fashioned elbow grease, paint, and tile work. We created a black-and-white, Sam Spade-detective-style agency replete with a private garden. Six years down the road, we relocated to our current home, a 3,000-square-foot Chelsea loft. We’re celebrating our 12th anniversary, and trust me, it feels like it.

What’s the meaning behind the name Workhouse Publicity?Workhouse celebrates a history of builders who, once upon a time, went to produce honest work. The very concept of our “Workhouse” is to recount a history of invisible masses, unsung orphans, hotel pageboys, secretarial desk clerks, and other servants of business. Our humble task is to bring attention to a roster of clients’ work unseen. The agency dubs itself “A Creative Playground for Serious Business.” What does that mean? The intention is really to create a den of curiosity. Warm wood tones and a jamming soundtrack keep it all very mod and 21st century, a kind of modern-nostalgia. There’s a definitive, aesthetical vision, but there is always some new design that comes along to discover and embellish. Like our corporate culture, my guess is that it will expand forever. The office should be a wonderland inspiring both staff and clients alike, yet promote a sense of play. That's the sweet spot between uptown sophistication and downtown soul. We’re a fortunate lot. We still get to play with toys, swing on a grass-covered swing, scratch the right brain, and keep our eyes on the prize. Challenge is found within the risk that we create for ourselves. It’s a high bar and we always aim to finish strong.

What would you say is the highlight of your career?Before we were fully staffed, I produced Interview Magazine's 30th Anniversary in two weeks without a budget. This meant aligning massive corporate sponsors over 10 working days to even build the thing. A seemingly impossible task given that I was in Paris when we got the assignment. However, David LaChapelle’s incredible vision transformed New York’s Kit Kat Club into Hotel LaChapelle. The room was filled with massive rows of twin beds, night stands, Bibles, alarm clocks, neon signs, topless Bell boys adorned with pasties and suspenders, giant inflatable dolls, cupcakes by Donatella Versace, and a transsexual Amanda LePore leaping out of a giant birthday cake. Entertainment was provided by Elton John, Lil' Kim, and Groove Armada. A who's who of arrivals included Demi Moore, Russell Simmons, Diane Von Furstenberg, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Jon Bon Jovi, Fran Lebowitz, and Moby. It was straight Warhol circa 1999. The kind of electric night you couldn’t completely comprehend in a city that never sleeps.

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at work?It involves a whiffle-ball bat and a bottle of Jack. Suffice to say that a good PR man knows when to keeps his mouth shut.

How has being a family man affected your career? In building my business, it was take no prisoners. I could burn the candle nightly or let the ink run dry. If you've ever had the grit to built something from the ground up, love it or loathe it, you deeply understand the struggle. But then I had children. I needed the open-heart surgery that only the magic of childhood could produce. Where once I had been an emotionless surveyor, when the kids came along, I was crying on a dime. We can all certainly use a wordsmith who may be emotionally attached. It does makes for better copy. I'm an idea man. That's always been my stock and trade. SIDEBAR: STRATEGY TO SHAREHONOR YOUR WORD Handshakes mean something. They are moral compasses to better business. “Let’s shake on it” is more than a gesture. It’s the true definition of character. When the stakes are high and the chips are down, my word is my bond. In a world of lip service, I stridently work to remain true to my word. I look for exactly the same thing in my staff. Still having the guts. The creative manpower. The stuff. Methodically building, brick by brick. Ten years from now, our hands will still be dirty. Just the way we like it.

TIMELINE 1996: Opened Workhouse Publicity in a rented kitchen in SoHo 2002: Relocated to current offices in Chelsea 2003: Won the National Congressional Committee’s 2003 National Leadership Award; elected to serve as an Honorary Chairman of the Business Advisory Council 2004: Selected by the International Who's Who of Executives 2009: Received the U.S. Commerce Association's 2009 New York Award in the Marketing/Branding division 2010: Acquired by the Morris + King Company; Nelson appointed president of company2011: In a desire to recapture independence, Nelson negotiates a buyback, repurchases WORKHOUSE and takes the company private2012: Workhouse sweeps three of the industry's highest honors when it is bestowed with the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Silver Anvil Award, the PR News' Platinum PR "Wow Award" and the Bulldog Reporter Silver Medal Award. The agency was also named a PR Daily/ Dow Jones "Grand Prize: PR Campaign of the Year " Finalist

ADAM NELSON CEO, WORKHOUSEAdam Nelson is the Founder & CEO of WORKHOUSE. Widely regarded for his original thinking, imaginative ideas and strikingly unique hands-on approach, he brings a keen understanding and deep expertise to the agency's consumer spaces. In 2012, Workhouse swept three of the industry's highest honors when it was bestowed with the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Silver Anvil Award, the PR News' Platinum PR "Wow Award" and the Bulldog Reporter Silver Medal Award. The agency was also named a PR Daily/ Dow Jones "Grand Prize: PR Campaign of the Year " Finalist. Established in 1999, Workhouse is a leading boutique agency that develops stylish marketing campaigns and successful worldwide events for a wide range of legendary clients including The Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood, Francis Ford Coppola, David LaChapelle, Interview Magazine, International Emmy Awards, Galleries Lafayette, Virgin, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Wantful.com, Henri Bendel, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tony Shafrazi Gallery & Versace. Prior to Workhouse, Mr. Nelson was a senior publicist at Jason Weinberg & Associates, where he represented Tim Burton, David LaChapelle, Lennox Lewis and Sean "P Diddy" Combs, among others. Previously he was a senior publicist at the Peggy Siegal Company, overseeing the Warner Brothers account. Mr. Nelson has been recognized for his outstanding creative, receiving the U.S. Commerce Association's 2009 New York Award, the National Congressional Committee’s 2003 National Leadership Award and was elected to serve as an Honorary Chairman of the Business Advisory Council. He was selected by the International Who's Who of Executives in 2004. He earned his BFA from the University of the Arts and attended certificate programs at both Yale and Oxford University. He is married to Alison Nelson, founding owner of the Chocolate Bar whose locations include New York's West Village and 30 locations in Dubai and the Middle East. They have two children a daughter, Lulu Scout and a son, Sailor.

Specialties: A strategic visionary with a clear sense of purpose and urgency when faced with diverse situational challenges during periods of both declining sales and rapid growth. Skilled at establishing operational excellence within culturally diverse environments, translating conceptual PR models into specific growth strategies, and planning executing multi-faceted global business development campaigns designed to improve market share. Public Relations, Marketing, Promotion, Special Events, Advertising.

THIS LIFE | ADAM NELSON | PR PUNKA WEEK IN THE LIFE OF ADAM NELSON.Photographed by JOSHUA WONG Adam Nelson doesn't just represent the who's who of the fashion, entertainment and music worlds, he's one of them. At the helm of public relations agency Workhouse Publicity, dubbed "the house that work built," Nelson founded the shop in 1996 and has been shaking things up ever since. Proof positive: a client list that has included Debbie Harry, Tim Burton, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Francis Ford Coppola and photographic legend David LaChapelle. Then there are the businesses - iconic institutions like Virgin Records, Bergdorf Goodman and Interview magazine, just to name a few. With its untraditional approach to brand establishment and repositioning, Workhouse stands out from the crowd. The same could be said of Nelson, who is anything but conventional. His firm's office contains an Elton John pinball machine, a vibrant red bust of Chairman Mao, a grass-covered swing and a PhatBoy Bike made for nostalgic mischief. Fascinated by design, Nelson has created a creative playground for serious business. And when he's not in the office, he's out on the streets executing guerilla marketing campaigns one minute and hanging with A-list celebrities the next. This all makes for some pretty busy days. Days, it turns out, that are as exhilarating as the magic he creates. STACEY HOWARD

ALISON AND ADAM NELSON'S Chelsea apartment is largely chocolate-colored: dark chocolate-stained walnut and oak furniture; a mocha-y ultrasuede couch; living room walls the color of one of Ms. Nelson's best-selling chocolate bars, Café Con Leche, which she offers in her stylish West Village store, Chocolate Bar; and a bedroom whose walls remind her of a red-wine-infused truffle called Chocolate Lush she will be selling rafts of this weekend for Valentine's Day. These walls, painted a dark, deep, blood red, Ms. Nelson said, "are the color of the ganache at the moment you add the red wine.

"In the hall is a David LaChapelle portrait of the model Naomi Campbell digitally miniaturized and set astride a very, very large chocolate bunny. (Mr. Nelson, who is also an actor, owns a public relations company called WORKHOUSE (www.workhousepr.com); Mr. LaChapelle is a former client.) Lulu, the Nelsons' 1½-year-old daughter, sometimes refers to Ms. Campbell as "Momma."

"What does it mean to live a chocolate lifestyle?" Ms. Nelson asked rhetorically the other day, in explanation of a life philosophy and business plan, and then answered: "It means having lots of fun, not taking yourself too seriously and using the best ingredients. Oh, and eating more chocolate."

Mr. Nelson, 35, and Ms. Nelson, 31, have been living in this one-bedroom in the London Terrace apartments since July 2001, when a friend's dot-com tanked and the friend couldn't pay the rent. When they signed their sublease, the wait for primary leases was about five years. (The complex, on 23rd and 24th Streets between 9th and 10th Avenues, is so big - when built, it had 1,665 apartments - it feels like its own neighborhood.) When the sublease ran out, after 9/11, Mr. Nelson said, the waiting list had vanished.

Chocolate Bar's brown and orange palette - retro-reconfigured, as Mr. Nelson likes to say - is distinctly of its moment. The Nelsons' apartment, with its vintage television set, collection of double-lens reflex cameras and 40's-style telephone, is more like a sepia print of a much earlier moment sometime in the last century. "I have this thing that when someone takes a picture of me," Ms. Nelson said, "I don't want anyone to know what year it is. I have this notion of being timeless."

They've been married since November 2001. A few weeks after the wedding, Ms. Nelson bonded with Mr. Nelson's college roommate's boyfriend over dinner - and a chocolate layer cake baked by the boyfriend that was devoured by Ms. Nelson.

Intuitively gauging the appetites of a city starving for sin and sugar, the two sketched the outlines of Chocolate Bar, which they saw as a neighborhood hangout and candy store for grown-ups. (South Beach dieters, Ms. Nelson said with some amusement, now eat her dark chocolate bar with peanut butter spread upon it.) The store opened the following May. Monica Lewinsky was their first customer, an occurrence Ms. Nelson took to be a very good omen.

Ms. Nelson is a chocolate lobbyist of the most modern sort, and Mr. Nelson is her most ardent supporter. Thinner than she has any right to be, given a daily chocolate consumption that includes two cups of Chocolate Bar's smoky-tasting hot chocolate, a spiced brownie and at least two truffles, the lovely, lanky and tattooed Ms. Nelson, have aimed to make chocolate seem urgently cool, the opposite of frou-frou. Indeed, with its ironic, 70's-era styling and deadpan candy names, Chocolate Bar is an anti-bonbon.

"When the store first opened," Mr. Nelson said, "people would come in and complain about the price of its $1.35 truffles. Now, they're asking about the cacao content." Ms. Nelson talked about chocolate varietals, and about savory applications like shaving a dark bar onto French bread with olive oil and sea salt.

Nelson's book, "Chocolate Bar: Recipes and Entertaining Ideas for Living the Sweet Life" (Running Press; $24.95), makes a case for a chocolate lifestyle, with recipes for spiced cocoa meatballs, a chocolate malted and a chocolate body scrub. For photographs, it uses not the usual chocolate vernacular -pastry bags or chunks of crumbled bittersweet chocolate - but portraits by Brian Kennedy of urban hipsters brandishing chocolate martinis or huge bars of chocolate, models heavily accessorized with tattoos, gym-pumped arms and ironic upraised eyebrows.

At home a few weeks ago, Ms. and Mr. Nelson seemed the calmest of entrepreneurs, despite a marriage running on two companies. They met in the summer of 1998, when Mr. Nelson was doing a one-man show about Lenny Bruce called "How to Talk Dirty & Influence People: The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce." Ms. Nelson stage-managed the production and brought Mr. Nelson lunch each day from her other job, waitressing at Once Upon a Tart on Sullivan Street in SoHo.

"She walked in the first day, nearly bald, wearing a tiny rock 'n' roll T-shirt and tattoos and this smile," Mr. Nelson said. "I had to hire her."

Ms. Nelson said she took one look at Mr. Nelson and thought, "Uh oh."

She had dreamed of opening a bakery; he had pretty much run through his dream of acting.

"That was for my disposable 20's," he said. "I just wanted to make a living."

He'd been house-, plant- and pet- sitting for five years, he said, sleeping in theaters or on the couches of friends. His longest run was six months in an apartment on Waverly Place, the home of a celebrity with a sudden hit television show and lots of plants. Mr. Nelson's public relations company's name is taken from a now defunct local theater company, which both Mr. Nelson and that unnamed celebrity belonged to.

"It's kind of an homage," Mr. and Ms. Nelson said at exactly the same time, and in exactly the same spooky, Anne Baxter, "All About Eve" voice. "Er, sorry," they both said at once.

"That happens all the time," Ms. Nelson said.

At first, Mr. and Ms. Nelson worked together at Workhouse. Clients called Ms. Nelson "the Clotter," Mr. Nelson said, "for her ability to stop the bleeding."

Ms. Nelson said, "I just fed them."

They found an empty storefront on Eighth Avenue between Jane and Horatio Streets and renovated it themselves in four months. It had been a mom-and-pop mailbox store, she said, and one night the mom and pop vanished. "The mail kept coming for a while," she said. "As we were making the store, the landlord would be outside surrounded by a crowd of people, his arms full of mail, yelling out names."

Ms. Nelson is waving the chocolate banner alone, with a little help this weekend. From 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday and Monday (the store opens at 10 a.m.), Ms. Nelson will be in Chocolate Bar, flanked by six or seven recruits, ringing up her Booty Boxes (tag line: Give some, Get some) and Love Boxes.

Last year during the same period, the store made as much money in two days as it did during the entire month of September. On Monday, Valentine's Day, Ms. Nelson will send Mr. Nelson flowers, and a box of her truffles.

"He won't be seeing me," she said, "till late Monday night."

Adam and Alison Nelson's apartment in London Terrace in Chelsea features much chocolate-colored furniture - Ms. Nelson owns New York's award-winning Chocolate Bar, a stylish West Village store. In this multimedia presentation she talks about her apartment in New York City.

PAGE SIX MAGAZINE: SIX LIFE: THE ULTIMATE IN REAL ESTATE VOYEURISMALISON NELSON: FOUNDER/ CHOCOLATE BAR [WWW.CHOCOLATEBARNYC.COM] & HUSBAND ADAM NELSON, CEO WORKHOUSE[WWW.WORKHOUSEPR.COM] One husband, two kids and a dog called Spot. To keep harmony in their one-bedroom apartment, chocolate diva Alison Nelson has to be an ergonomics expert.

When we moved in, before the kids came along, we thought we had a big house,” laughs Alison Nelson, 34, as she walks ìnto the open plan living room, prewar apartment she shares with her husband, Adam Nelson, CEO of WORKHOUSE (www.workhousepr.com), and their children, Lulu 4 1/2, and Sailor, 18 months. These days the three-seater couch has been replaced by a dark leather two-seater from ABC Carpet and Home, and a sleek blond wood desk from West Elm stands in for a dining room table.

"We wanted to make as much space as possible for the kids to run around" Says Alison, founding owner of Chocolate Bar (www.chocolatebarnyc.com).

The Nelson's have rented a one-bedroom in London Terrace for the past six years--- a long time by New York standards, especially for a family of four. We know we'll have to move when Sailor needs his own room. The building doesn't have two-bedroom apartments," she says. (Sailor currently occupies a white white Offi crib filled with Ugly dolls in a corner of his parents’ bedroom; Lulu sleeps in a converted walk-in closet.) “Each year we look at what’s out there, but we can’t find another building with as much charm, not to mention a beautiful, Olympic-size covered courtyard and roof deck.”

Often referred to as “the downtown Dakota,” London Terrace Gardens takes up an entire city block, between 9th and 10th Avenues and 23rd and 24th Streets. it’s resplendent with Art Deco flxtures and has played home to Nicole Kidman,Terì Hatcher and Annie Leibovitz. “Nicole would swim in the pool every morning when she here,” says Adam.

Alison and Adam were married in January 2002. Five months later Alison opened her first Chocolate Bar, a coffee Shop offering retro-style chocolate for grown-ups, in the West Village. There was the sophisticated uptown Chocolate Bar cafe’ inside Henri Bendel, and a third store in New Jersey which gives Alison an excuse to go to the beach. Chocolate Bar has become a hit in the Middle East, too: She has opened seven stores in Dubai and Qatar in partnership with a Dubai-­based company. “I'm currently working on recipes with dates and figs to appeal to a Middle Eastern palate,” she says. “And it’s a very real possibility that we'll have to be in Qatar for the summer."

At home, meanwhile, the Nelson's don't live like renters. They’ve covered one wall in the living room with Cole & Son wallpaper, and in December 2005 they renovated. “The large walk-in closet made a perfect bedroom for Lulu once we built the wall out,” says Alison.

In Lulu's room, tulle and sequins spill out of a dress-up box and the doors of an old armoire have been removed so that Lulu can get to her outfits more easily (“She loves to play dress up,” says Alison. “Shes a bit of performer.")

Purple and green Blik vinyls adorn the pink walls. “Vinyls are so great, especially with kids, because you can take them off if you hate them,” Alison says. Fluffy toys are lined up on the bed and an impressive Barbie coliection is stored in an over the-door shoe rack. “We were are having a Barbie explosion,” she explains. And above the made-to-meausre twin bed is a photograph of Lulu­ the performer in action. “Our photographer friend Brian Kennedy did a crying baby series,” she heard heard us talking about it and immediateIy made her best crying face for him.”

Alison and Adam's aesthetic is a mix of modern and nostalgic. In their bedroom, a French Deco chandelier hangs over the white linen-covered antique iron bed that Adam found in a flea market long before he met Alison. “We agreed it was a keeper,” She says. “You just don't find heavy pieces like that these days.” lt’s hard to imagine the kids jumping on the pristine bed, but they do. “I need things to be too prim and proper,” says Alison. “Thats how I live my life.”

Spot, a black lab mix, is also welcome on the furniture. As Alison takes a seat on the leather couch, he walks across the old wood floors and climbs up next to her. Alison crosses one slim leg over another (shes blessed with an enviable metabolism for someone who claims to gorge on chocolate|ate every night). “I found Spot in the East Village two days before I met my husband,” she says, affectionately scratching the dog behind his ears. Their living room-presided over by a David LaChapelle photograph of Milla Jovovich standing in front oŕ Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood holding a giant Oscar--- is the family's favorite room in the house. After dinner, there is usually some sort of concert. “Adam will put on a record and Lulu will get her microphone out. Sailor strums on his guitar,” says Alison` “I have two New York City kids who don't go to bed until 10 pm., no matter how hard I try.”

Written by: Nadine RubinPHOTOGRAPHY: KARIN KOHLBERG FOR PAGESÍXMAGAZINE; PROP STYLING: JAMES MASSENBURG FOR OLIVER PIRO HAIR AND MAKEUP: NAOMI VVARDENPHOTO: Alison and her daughter, Lulu, share a moment with Mr. Warhol; Chocolate Bar chocolates; and in the bedroom, a polka-dot chair adds personality.

Adam Nelson's Art Pimp Book was successfully funded on Kickstarter on Wednesday, 22 May 2013 reaching it's goal of $10K. To see the campaign on KICKSTARTER visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/763274779/art-pimp-the-book

KICKSTARTERKickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the direct support of others. Since its launch on April 28, 2009, over $500 million has been pledged by more than 3 million people, funding more than 35,000 creative projects. Thousands of creative projects are funding on Kickstarter at any given moment. Each project is independently created and crafted by the person behind it. The filmmakers, musicians, artists, and designers you see on Kickstarter have complete control and responsibility over their projects. They spend weeks building their project pages, shooting their videos, and brainstorming what rewards to offer backers. When they're ready, creators launch their project and share it with their community.Every project creator sets their project's funding goal and deadline. If people like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen. If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers' credit cards are charged when time expires. If the project falls short, no one is charged. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing.

Kickstarter launched on April 28, 2009 by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler.The New York Times called Kickstarter "the people's NEA". Time named it one of the "Best Inventions of 2010" and "Best Websites of 2011".Kickstarter reportedly raised $10 million funding from backers including NYC-based venture firm Union Square Ventures and angel investors such as Jack Dorsey, Zach Klein and Caterina Fake. The company is based in Manhattan's Lower East Side. Andy Baio served as the site's CTO until November 2010, when he joined Expert Labs. Lance Ivy has been Lead Developer since the website launched.On February 14, 2013, Kickstarter released an iOSapp called Kickstarter for iPhone. The app is aimed at users who create and back projects and is the first time Kickstarter has had an official mobile presence.

Several creative works have gone on to receive critical acclaim and accolades after being funded on Kickstarter. The documentary short "Sun Come Up" and documentary short "Incident in New Baghdad" were each nominated for an Academy Award; contemporary art projects "EyeWriter" and "Hip-Hop Word Count" were both chosen to exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art in 2011; filmmaker Matt Porterfield was selected to screen his film Putty Hill at the Whitney Biennial In 2012; author Rob Walker's Hypothetical Futures project exhibited at the 13th International Venice Architecture Biennale; musician Amanda Palmer's album "Theatre is Evil" debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200; designer Scott Wilson won a National Design Award from Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum following the success of his TikTok + LunaTik project; and approximately 10% of the films accepted into the Sundance, SXSW and Tribeca Film Festivals are projects funded on Kickstarter.

ADAM NELSON CEO OF WORKHOUSE IS AN ART PIMP | WWW.WORKHOUSEPR.COM“In a world of con men there is nothing lower than a publicist,” The New Yorker wrote in 1944, harkening back to the days when the Fourth Estate was populated by flacks and hacks. But the more things change, the more they remain the same, particularly now, when the artist as brand has been unwittingly elevated to the international stage.Adam Nelson, Founder of WORKHOUSE, an arts-based publicity firm operating in New York City that was instituted in 1999. Workhouse has represented photographers David LaChapelle, Albert Watson, Roxanne Lowitt, Nigel Parry, Pamela Hanson, David Drebin, Oberto Gili, Billy Name, Bob Gruen, Jean Paul Goude, Patrick McMullan, and the Horst P. Horst estate; galleries including Tony Shafrazi Gallery, Staley Wise Gallery, Photographers Limited Editions, Symbolic Gallery, and Rubin Museum of Art; and publishing houses Rizzoli, teNeues, Random House, Skira, Universe, and Assouline Editions to name a few. In each case, the agency was tasked with putting the fine art images or photographic books in the forefront of public consciousness.How is it done? The publicist’s trick is to make it appear effortless, as though waving a wand and—POOF—a New York Times feature magically materializes above the fold. But the hard truth is, publicity is a thankless job. In a world of what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, the publicist must continuously produce news and innovative results.Nelson reveals the tricks of the trade in his new book, Art Pimp: Tales of FlimFlam, Fixes, and Fornication, which has just launched on Kickstarter. The book is one part personal history, one part primer centered upon the art of the fix. It details the way in which publicists work to engineer iconography for the media and the public alike.As Nelson notes, “Art Pimp is a minimalist manifesto for the disenfranchised lay-offs among us. It preaches jailbreak. Read it and you’ll discover why desperation gets things done, why you should unsubscribe, friend your mentors, look for loopholes, cop an attitude and work for free. Let the uptown crowd stuff themselves into cubicles. This is a new playbook for modern age entrepreneurs who never want to have a boss again or give into the old Flim Flam. Traditional media is dying. So how do you get the goods across today when people aren’t buying? Learn how to be more industrious, how to establish brands with celebrity craftsmanship, and a slew of revolutionary concepts that will both rouse and rally you.”Nelson recounts his days with LaChapelle who created experiences that could only be described as “Warholesque.” Those brush strokes helped him understand the mechanics of spin, the power of illusion, and why millions continue to travel to the heart of New York City with absolute desperation to craft cultural moments of meaning. Nelson observes, “We bring a bit of attitude to the table. A brandalist to me is nothing more than a PR punk. Character’s such as Banksy who hit the wall with stencil art. There is a resonance to the way in which brandalist’s define themselves. Consider Richard Branson, Anthony Bourdain, Johnny Rotten. Each are serious thumb nosers who possess the spit and polish to get it done. Fire starters who feed off commitment with cold confidence. They are willing to bet the ranch and woe be he who stands in the way.”This is what sets a brandalist apart from an every day publicist. It’s the chartable difference between one who’s finely focused on achieving media placements for the clip books of yesterday, and the other who’s bricklaying towards the future in hopes of constructing a larger cultural mythology around their client. This is even more evident today, at a time where media transforms before our very eyes. Nelson likens this period to the time between radio and television when things were still in flux. “We don’t know where we sit. The splintering of media has greatly affected the ability to see our own names in newsprint. People have become more desperate with great hopes of being prominently placed. The idea of being ‘Newsworthy’ has rising to exponential heights. Here on the tipping point how many can cram into the phone booth or stand on the pin of the needle? The celebration of fame is so short lived today we must ask ourselves - is the mad, sad dash really worth it?”Art Pimp offers a reflective look at the way one mad hatter has created a vital relationship between the artist, the media, and the public. A tall tale told from a brandalist understands that the message is always traced back to the messenger. Today, in a time when media morphs before our very eyes, where we are all charged with the mission to self-create a public identity, Nelson’s declaration preaches jailbreak so that we can reinvent ourselves in our own image. This is what publicity does best—and why The New Yorker loathed it so much—is it a con? Is it a truth? Or is it, just maybe, a little bit of both?Miss RosenLINKShttp://www.artpimpbook.comhttp://www.workhousepr.comhttp://missrosen.wordpress.comCONTRIBUTORS Miss Rosen